*Note: Conquer Our Run hosts a series of races throughout the year, at either Dockweiler Beach or Manhattan Beach. This review is specifically about the New Year's Conquest race at Dockweiler on January 9, 2016.*

Overall:
A small, low-key race (<80 participants) with a fun, supportive atmosphere. Low registration fees ($21 for 5K, $27 for 10K, ~$33 for 15K (I forget the exact amount)), but unique swag and prizes included. Each race benefits charity; this one supported Lupus LA. Runners of all ages and abilities participated, and everyone was made to feel welcome and awesome. I'd run all of these races if I lived locally!

Pre-race:
Pre-race communications were friendly and informative. Parking was super easy - either free parking along the street above the beach or, for ~$10, you could park in the parking lot where the start/finish was. Bib pick-up was day-of only, starting at 6:30am. It was well organized and I got my stuff quickly. A coach from a local fitness center led all the runners in a group warmup which was surprisingly fun! The race director also spoke briefly before the race to explain the course, explain the race series, and pump us up.

Race:
Prompt 7am start. Course starts on a very short incline, then is flat as a pancake (except for the occasional speed bump) along the beach service road. Out and back in a straight line - once for 5K runners, twice for 10K, three times for 15K. Service road was open, so there were cyclists, other runners, and a few trucks sharing the course, as well as a closed gate to contend with. However, the obstacles weren't too bad at all (I managed to PR).

Swag:
Cotton t-shirts available for $6. Dog-tag medals for all finishers, and all runners got a goodie bag with their bibs that contained pretzels, protein powder, gummy vitamins, and a sports drink. There were also prizes for the top 15-20 finishers, and for this race those prizes were swag from the movie "13 Hours" (so "LA"!), including posters, hats, sweatshirts, and water bottles. I thought this was very unique and fun!

Aid stations:
Before the race the director mentioned that there would be water at the turnaround and at the finish line (the finish line was the other turnaround for runners doing the 10K or 15K), and that if we wanted some we should ask. I don't know if water at the first turnaround was only for the longer-distance runners, but when I got to that point I was going to ask for water, only I couldn't see any for the asking. (There might have been some, I just didn't see it.) There was a box with water bottles at the finish line.

Course scenery:
Maybe I'm biased because I consider Southern Californian beaches to be a bit of paradise, or maybe because I live in New England where it's dead and frigid this time of year, but the scenery was gorgeous to me. The beach, the waves crashing, the palm trees, the mountains in the distances... lovely. I suppose the scrub on the other side of the service road wasn't much to look at, but I just turned my head the other way and gaped at the view. Even the planes taking off from LAX directly overhead were a novelty and a cool distraction.

Post-race:
Volunteers call out your time as you cross the finish (race is manually timed, but the field was so small that there was no lag at the start; the official time matched my Garmin time exactly), and you get handed a dog tag as another volunteer double checks your name and bib number. With the three different distances the post-race area was sparse at first (I ran the 5K). The race director was handing out movie swag to finishers, and I think there was an official awards bit eventually, but I got too cold and left before it happened. The whole experience was very chill.

Room for Improvement:
Not much, to be honest. For a small, inexpensive, low-key race it was pretty perfect. The water availability at the turnaround could probably be a bit more obvious, but otherwise this was a very well run race.